To be fair, Solvaldi actually is cost effective from the perspective that chronic hep C results in liver transplants or death, and a course of Solvaldi knocks out hep C entirely. It was also developed in house by Gilead AFAIK (and they bore the risk of r&d, trials, etc).
edit: thanks for the correction refurb! I has actually looked at sofosbuvir on wikipedia prior to looking because I thought it was through an acquired company. I think it's still a different nature of acquisition & development vs Valeant or the putrid behavior described in this thread's link.
Sovaldi was acquired by Gilead when they purchased Pharmasset for ~$11B.
As for Sovaldi's cost effectiveness, it's more complicated that looking at liver transplants. Of the millions who have HCV, only a few percent will ever need a liver transplant.
That being said, if you look at what it costs to cure a patient of HCV, Gilead's drug is much more efficacious, so the "cost per cure" is much lower than with older drugs.
edit: thanks for the correction refurb! I has actually looked at sofosbuvir on wikipedia prior to looking because I thought it was through an acquired company. I think it's still a different nature of acquisition & development vs Valeant or the putrid behavior described in this thread's link.